Silent Rage
John Carpenterâs 1978 horror classic Halloween and its 1981 sequel are universally recognized as having kicked off the entire so called âslasher waveâ of the 1980s, as once most filmmakers realized that these style of films can be made fairly cheap (provided you have a flimsy enough premise to justify having a plot where several people are killed off one by one by a singular psycho killer), then the imitations just kept getting cranked out nonstop until at least 1984, with the Friday The 13th series becoming the gold standard as well as the extremely underrated Halloween 2 being the peak of the cycle. Really, the majority of these films are a sorry lot (even as many people are such fanatics that they just canât get enough of these flicks, especially from this era) but exceptions do emerge, as it did with this 1982 release that did as much as it could to copy its main killer from that of Michael Myers himself complete with a sci fi / mad scientist angle to explain his amazing recuperative and regenerative powers (whereas Myersâ ability to withstand punishment and never stop coming after you was never adequately explained and almost treated as being a point of acceptance by Loomis and the other characters), but what separates this movie from the rest of the slasher ranks was undoubtedly what can be called The Chuck Norris Factor in that yes, CHUCK NORRIS was literally the star and hero of this movie in a complete and total departure from anything and everything he has ever done before or since, moving away from his normal action movie fare into an undisputed, all out horror movie where his martial arts skills would be used to literally beat the shit out of the pseudo Myers killer for whom even his indestructibility would provide little respite from the hellacious pounding he was destined to get from Chuck. That being said, even as the film boasts a very strong overall cast, the film smartly features as its real star the killer himself, John Kirby as played by Brian Libby (a underrated character actor with a long and prolific career). The opening scene almost plays out as being tragic in showing a mentally ill manâs mind finally collapsing entirely (and bidding farewell to anything that resembles even being remotely human in the process) through a chilling 4 minute opening tracking shot that shows Kirby living in a house with screaming kids and an even worse shrill and shrieking mother (although whether or not they were his actual family or he was just renting a room there is never really specified) as he desperately tries to telephone his psychiatrist (Ron Silver) and speaks his last words of onscreen dialogue (âIâm not gonna make it.â) before hanging up and snapping completely, picking up an axe and murdering two people right there on the spot before Norrisâ Sheriff Dan Stevens shows up. By this point, Kirbyâs psychosis has reduced him to an almost bestial, animalistic state working on pure instinct to take out his victims before Chuck settles him down. His prognosis is not helped any when he snaps his handcuffs and goes for a deputyâs gun which leads to him being shot multiple times and presumed dead. But at the hospital that he is brought to, Silverâs psychiatrist takes part in the emergency surgery trying to save his life and notices how his two colleagues conducting the operation seem amazed at just how strong Kirby is to have taken that many bullets and somehow still be alive at that point. It turns out that the hospital that services the town also doubles as being a genetic research facility and the head doctor there (Steven Keats, a guy who had a strong character acting career before committing suicide in the early 90s) while conducting the surgery with his cohort (legendary cult movie actor William Finley) decides to use Kirby as a human test subject for an experimental serum that theyâre developing which will enable a human body to heal all wounds and injuries sustained no matter how severe with the admittedly justifiable purpose of curing all disease for humanity in the future. Silver (who seemed to have had some kind of consulting role on the project) strenuously objects on the grounds that since Kirby was uncontrollably unstable as a normal human being to begin with, making him literally invulnerable and superhuman could lead to a disaster of immeasurable proportions. But no, Keats and Finley move forward and inject the serum into Kirby anyway and when the psychotic murderer wakes up now reborn as a superhuman being (with a completely altered genetic structure), there is little doubt that the killing will begin anew. But that is only if not for Sheriff Chuck, whom during all the scientific debate scenes is given his own subplot of having to deal with a biker gang that has just moved in on his quiet, sleepy little town, leading to an all out brawl between Chuck and the gang that is just about a classic fight scene in its own right (if not for the bikers each coming at Chuck one at a time) and even shows uncoordinated bikers missing Chuck completely and knocking out their own guys in the process. Of course, once the indestructible Kirby gets loose (while still retaining the feral mannerisms from when he first lost his mind) is when the stalk and slash sequences really get under way and Brian Libby in the role is actually truly frightening, never speaking but also not hiding underneath a mask like Myers does, intensely zeroing in on his prey but also clearly getting more and more excited when he sees that his victim has no means of escape and that their life is within his grasp which really makes it a shame that the performance doesnât seem to be too highly regarded as being amongst the great horror villains (perhaps too many people associate the film solely with Chuck instead). On the negative side, you have Stephen (Flounder) Furst in the role of Chuckâs deputy and comic relief sidekick who seems to be written and acted as being mildly retarded but that is also used as the basis for one unfunny bit of schtick after another (save for when the main biker mama flashes her bare tits at him and Chuck has to restrain him before he openly molests her) and one has to wonder what his exact qualifications are for a law enforcement job given that he nearly shoots Chuckâs head off by accident in an early scene. Kirby may have amazing healing powers but is shown to still require medical attention to remove bullets after suffering normally fatal gunshot wounds which again is the type of halfway legit plot point that was never addressed with Myers in the Halloween films (and the question of whether or not Kirby would need continuous doses of the serum to remain upright and unstoppable is never fully explained either). By the time Chuck catches wind of the situation then itâs only a matter of time before the inevitable confrontation takes place, starting when Chuck blasts Kirby out of a three story window followed by trapping him inside a truck that flips over and blows up to the true final showdown. A one on one that sees a guy who might be completely indestructible but whom also appears to have no knowledge of how to handle himself in a fight whatsoever (his preferred method of killing is to either snap a neck or bash somebodyâs head in against a wall) vs Chuck. And we get to see Chuck Norris just go to town on somebody who obviously cannot defend himself, a person whom we might feel great sympathy for were he not invulnerable and a murderer on top of that. It would even appear from the severity of the beating and the way that Chuck is showing off his top notch skills that he could just go all day long with administering this asskicking since obviously his opponent is not capable of dying but the obvious humiliation of being constantly knocked off balance and / or onto his ass must sting much more than any type of physical injury that Chuck could possibly lay on him. And it is THIS final battle that ranks as being one of the great fight scenes of all time with this well presented and well portrayed Michael Myers clone (even his shadow and silhouette resemble that of Myers) just finding himself completely and utterly embarrassed by one of the greatest martial artists to ever walk this planet, even moreso than if he had been defeated by some random scream queen like Jamie Lee Curtis. You just donât fuck with Chuck, and this departure for him into new territory still feels fresh today despite the obvious comparisons that the main villain draws from most people. A hybrid horror / action / sci fi / martial arts classic that is wholly and distinctly AmericanâŚ
9/10